happycruisingUK

We’re on Splendor at the moment and enjoying it very much. We’ve been on Explorer before and it’s very similar. 
boarding in Southampton was very quick and cabins were ready about 2 pm. All the staff are really eager to help and service has been fantastic. 
We were told by the cruise director that there were only 341 passengers and more than 500 crew. This is good for service but it’s been quite empty in Compass Rose in the evenings. 
The entertainment has been really good. The singers and dancers are so talented. 
if anyone has any questions about Splendor I’ll be happy to try to answer them. 
Sorry this isn’t really an extensive review but just wanted to tell people that it’s back to normal except the staff are all wearing masks and it’s quieter than usual on a Regent ship. 

We invited two guests on board from Bermuda while we were on Explorer in November. We asked at reception and had to give three days notice and we had to provide date of birth, nationality and passport number. We were due to stay overnight. 

We arranged to meet near reception at7pm and they had to show the documentation that we had filled in on the application form. We were going to go to Compass Rose for dinner. There was no charge for this. 

As it turned out we missed Bermuda completely because of weather, but the process was easy to do while onboard. It is good advertising for Regent if the guests  have a good time on board. 

From the Seven Seas Society magazine which was waiting for us after our Explorer cruise. Hope this helps. 

In Britain we have two brands of the type of flooring you mentioned. They are Amtico and Karndean and both are similar products to the floor in the reception area. 

Just been on a bridge tour and was told there was no upgrade. So probably will be no different. 

I was told by the internet manager yesterday that the internet was being upgraded today on Explorer. I’m yet to see any difference but hope it will happen. 

Thank you to everyone who answered my question.

I have washed my clothes in the laundrette and hung them to dry over the bath. The ship is moving so much that they are  waving around!

The laundry is great for men’s shirts, pyjamas and socks and they do a great job, but it’s not worth risking more delicate items. 

I’m on Explorer at the moment and wanted to send some machine washable trousers to the laundry. They are not to be tumble dried however and do not want to risk spoiling them. I have asked our steward and a female steward but neither can answer the question of how the laundry deals with such items. I’ve tried the search function on CC but it doesn’t seem to be working

Does anyone know the answer? Sorry if it’s been asked before. 

We have asked about inviting a guest for dinner on this cruise(Explorer). We were told they need 72 hours notice with a form filled in with passport number, date of birth and nationality of the guest. We were told there was no charge. 

We are in an F2 category and were not asked for that information so I think suite category is not an issue. 

We were not asking for embarkation day so don’t know about that. 

Rcandkc - I have asked at Coffee Connection for you about wine and beer. The answer is no but the Meridian Lounge is opposite and opens at 4pm. You can just get whatever you want there and take it outside. It’s no distance at all. 

Here is a photo of the new outdoor area of Coffee Connection. It has automatic doors to the outside. There is a space between two sets of doors and one closes before the second opens. Today is the first day since we set sail that anyone has used this area.

We missed Casablanca and Agadir because of sea conditions. Tangier and a sea day were substituted and the rest of the itinerary was reversed. Today we are in Funchal, Madeira and the weather has been lovely. 

Hopefully the rest of the first part of this transatlantic cruise will be warm and sunny. Fingers crossed!

Yes the coffee connection outdoor area looks really nice though a bit chilly today. It will be very good when we are somewhere warmer. 

The orchestra played at the sail away and they were good outside. The lighting was very nice, an improvement? There are a lot of circular beds for two on the top deck which I think are new and also white curtains between each pair of sun beds on the back row of the pool deck. It looked very glamorous!

We went to the theatre tonight and Kwaj girl was right about the blue lights. They are along the edge of each step and very bright. You can’t miss them although they seemed to dim a bit during the show. Definitely better. 

I thought the internet had improved when I posted before. We were still docked in Barcelona and I thought it must have been upgraded in the dry dock. As soon as we were at sea the internet was non existent so it’s very disappointing. 

Its still lovely to be here though!

thanks Hambaghle for the good wishes.

Alexandra cruiser - we wondered about the situation in Barcelona too. We arrived on Monday and had no trouble whatsoever. There was nothing to worry about and no evidence of any disturbances. There were  a lot of police at the top of the Ramblas on Monday night but no trouble anywhere. We felt perfectly safe everywhere. 

Just got on the ship today and I’ve been told the all carpets have been replaced. The outdoor Veranda looks as if the furniture is new and also the chairs inside La Veranda look new too. There is outdoor heating too. The corridor carpets look very smart.

I was on the Explorer in January and its difficult to remember what everything was like then but will check on the theatre steps and let you know. 

Unfortunately (for me) the Coffee Connection still looks dark and gloomy!

the crew are all very pleased to see us and the cabins were ready early as the ship didn’t have passengers before us. 

Its lovely to be back on board!

We were on the Explorer from Cape Town to Rio in January in a G2 cabin.  We have been on all the other Regent ships and in veranda cabins up to concierge level. The space on Explorer in G2 level cabins is so much smaller.

Previously on Voyager we had dinner and a film a couple of times in our room but didn’t feel able to do that on Explorer because the table was only knee high. We asked for another table but was told the only option was the balcony table to be brought inside. We were not happy with that solution and were told no other tables were available. The ship was not full on that cruise either. 

Another thing we were not happy with was the TV. It was only really viewable from the bed and didn’t swivel so even if the table was ok, it would be impossible to eat a meal and watch a film at the same time.

we found the hanging space in the wardrobe far smaller than in other ships and also the bathroom is tiny.

we have booked another cruise on Explorer but in an F2 category. We asked to see other cabins whilst we were on Explorer and will not book a G category again. We were happy with other ships lower category cabins. I think Splendor will be the same as Explorer in terms of accommodation but the colour palette looks as if it is more modern. It looks beautiful on the website. 

Hope you enjoy  your cruise whichever you choose. 

We were on the Marina in late September/early October this year. We docked right in the middle of Bordeaux and stayed overnight there. We were able to walk into The middle of Bordeaux very easily. It is a beautiful city and we would go there again for a city break.

I had read on here about whether Marina would be able to get there but we certainly did! We did not call at Verdun at all.

We had previously been to Verdun on a Celebrity ship but we went on a trip to St Emilion from there, and didn't visit Bordeaux at all then.

If you look at the calendar for the port of Bordeaux it will tell you if you are docked there. When we were on Marina it was on the port schedule. Hope you are there as it is a wonderful view from the ship.

We spent all our CUCs while ashore, but we were told we could change them in Santiago on our way back to the ship. No currencies were mentioned so we assumed dollars only, but there were only 20 non Americans on board with us so we were in a minority! Definitely can change back to dollars though.

Bon Voyage! Hope you all have a wonderful cruise.

Our last day ashore was yesterday in Santiago de Cuba. It was a short day in port as we arrived at midday and left at about 5.30 pm. We went on a tour about the birthplace of the Revolution. We toured the hillside and barracks which was involved in the fighting, then visited a museum about the Revolution. We had a short time in the centre of Santiago on our own then a talk by a city official. Lastly we went to the cemetery where Castro is buried and saw the changing of the guard. We were told the guard changes every half hour, it was quite a spectacle with specially composed music. Santiago looks more prosperous than Cienfuegos and we thought it was very interesting. We felt we understood the Cuban history better although it probably resonates more with Americans.

It was extremely hot. No problems going through immigration, just a cursory glance at passports. They took the visas and gave us a transit token to get back to the ship.

It has been a good cruise and we have really enjoyed it. Our two previous Oceania cruises have been on Marina and we prefer the larger ships and larger bathrooms! We think the food choices are wider too especially in the Terrace Grill, but we primarily go for itinerary so wouldn't discount these ships.

I hope the following Cuba cruisers enjoy Cuba as much as we have done. I would definitely love to visit Havana again, but it is a very long way from home.

Yesterday we were in Cienfuegos. We went on our own into town and there was no inspection of passports or visas at all, we just walked through. Cienfuegos is a very poor town and it was very hot. We had a look at the square and a few buildings there. We walked down a shopping street where people were queueing for rations and bought a bottle of rum for 8CUC. There was one street of stalls selling souvenirs. We got a taxi back to the ship. Probably best to take a tour here. There were quite a few horse drawn traps and also bicycle rickshaws, called by one man his Cuban Lamborghini!

We went out for a drink the first night in Havana, and it was really quick and easy to get ashore. There is little in the way of street lighting but we had a map. We heard of some people who got lost and had to take a taxi back.

We had a drink at the Hotel Ambos Mundos on the roof terrace. This was a hotel that Hemingway frequented. We then wandered til we found a bar with live music. People were very helpful and we felt quite safe.

The second day we went ashore on our own and followed a Lonely Planet walking tour. We had a drink at a colonnaded hotel and also at a microbrewery in Plaza Vieja. There was a six piece band playing there and it was very good.

There were band all over and also singers on stilts in costumes. Lovely buildings everywhere ans some were very dilapidated and some renovated.

Drinks were about 3 or 4 CUC each. There were very few shops that we saw. We loved Havana.

We boarded on Friday for this cruise. At the terminal There was a desk for the health questionnaire and then a queue for the Cuban visa which took a while. We had booked before June ?16th and the date was hilighted on the form we had to sign which had the reasons for visiting. I don't know what the form was like if you booked later than June.We then had another queue to check in, which was the usual credit card and photo procedure. Then we boarded the ship.

Insignia is the smallest ship we have been on, especially the bathrooms which are tiny!

Today we were in Havana. The ship was delayed by an hour due to the berth being occupied by a late departing ship. We should have docked at 1pm, but we docked after 2pm. Our tour was scheduled for 2pm in the theatre and that was unchanged. Unfortunately we were still in the theatre at about 3.30 and then took ages to queue for immigration. We then went to change money and down three flights of stairs into the bus station. Our tour left at 4.15pm and returned at 7pm.

We had a good tour , with a good guide who was very informative about life in Cuba. The last part was in the dark though. He said that it was unusual the way the delays happened.

I can't see how anyone would know if you were on a bus tour or a private tour. There was such a Melee around the terminal and no questions were asked.

We went out alone for a drink in a bar tonight and it was quick and easy to leave and return to the ship. We were told that 400 people were on evening tours to Buena Vista or the Tropicana!

We are going into Havana to walk around and take photos tomorrow . It's a 10 minute walk into old Havana and we expect it will be much easier tomorrow. One of the reasons for the delay today was that the MSC Opera is docked next to us and arrived before us.

I hope this has not been too boring but I know there has been a lot of interest in how Cuba cruises work.

We are on Insignia on 1st December 2017 to Cuba. We have 4 free excursions between the two of us. I can't find when we can book them or which ones are the included 'free' ones. The website doesn't work well for me! Would really appreciate a few hints! Thanks in advance. Really excited to see Cuba.

I don't know how slow your walking is, but the ship is small. You will have only 12 cabins to pass before the lifts. It will be nothing like mainstream cruise ships. We were in 705 and can't remember the other cabin number but didn't find it bumpy. I think 902 will be great. Enjoy your cruise!

Yes that's exactly why. I'd read on here about aft vibration and so I walked round the decks the first time I was on Navigator. I think anything aft of the lifts at the back has too much vibration for me. An H guarantee should be OK as they are at the front, but you could get an upgrade to a different category. We liked Navigator very much though and I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time.

Just found out yesterday from My Account on the Regent website that we are in a cat F cabin after booking a guarantee H cabin. We are sailing on the 18th of June on Voyager so we found out just a week before setting off. We have been on Voyager several times so we were happy with whatever we ended up with. Wouldn't book a guarantee on Navigator though.